Shabka
by The Queen of Plot Twists
Summary: Intertwined: Two Hearts, One Legacy 1 "We need to talk." Atem slipped something out of his pocket, held it up and all the air was sucked out of Bakura's lungs. "About this." Bakura stared at the former pharaoh—or rather—at the silver pendant dangling accusatorily from between his clenched fingers. "You know what this is," Atem said. "Don't you." Darkshipping AU Cannon divergent


WARNING: DARKSHIPPING, CANNON DIVERGENT ALTERNATE UNIVERSE AND A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF...SEE END OF CHAPTER FOR FULL NOTES.

All that said ENJOY!

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_Shabka_

Bakura didn't flinch when the door slammed open and a very irate former Pharaoh stormed in.

"Well, well, it's certainly been a while since I've seen _that _look in your eye." Bakura laughed, loud and boisterous.

Atem slammed the door shut, locked it.

"Well someone's in a mood." Bakura retorted, sitting up quick as a snake and stretched as he stood. Ryou had banished him to the couch since they were forced to share a room on the blimp ride home and the unforgiving thing was murder on his back, throwing his spine all out of proportion—an act of vengeance, no doubt, but Bakura had been so proud of his former light/descendent/whatever the hell they were now's newfound backbone that he couldn't bring himself to be angry about it. They'd be back in Domino soon anyway.

He leaned against the window, arms braced against the sill, his posture purposely insolent and indomitable. To his disappointment, the Pharaoh's nostrils didn't flare up like they usually did when he was angry or Bakura was purposely disrespectful. Nor did his eyes flash with that fiery temper that was just so delightful. If anything they were hard. Cold like empty garnet stones. He didn't like it. At all.

"What did I do this time?"

Atem's mouth and brows were a cold neutral lie, hi ace a mask that betrayed no expression, not a flicker of emotion. "We need to talk." He slipped something out of his pocket, held it up and all the air was sucked out of Bakura's lungs. "About this."

Bakura stared at the former pharaoh—or rather—at the silver pendant dangling accusatorily from between his clenched fingers: a pale crimson crystal whose color flashed between deepest red and brightest pink with a curving serpent curling in its tail and tucking its fanged head right in the crook of the loop where the crystal split perfectly down so that it resembled half a heart—and made it all too clear it was half of a whole.

For the first time in nearly three thousand years, Bakura felt his chest tighten until his heart stopped.

"You know what this is," Atem said his face a mask of chiseled stone. Gone was the blazing fire from his smoldering eyes and sharp smile. Instead his features were frozen in a neutral mask just as sharp, just as burning but cold. "Don't you."

It wasn't a question.

"Where did you get that?" It was all his shock would allow him to say.

"I found it after our duel." A deliberate pause. "During Battle City."

Of course, he did. Bakura swore. Loudly. Of course, _that_ was where he'd found it. Bakura really _was_ going to kill that blasted Tomb Keeper, he didn't care how much the Pharaoh's brat liked kissing him, Malik really was going to _die_ for this.

"I asked aibou to hold on to it for me," Atem explained forcing the ex-tomb robber from his vengeful musings. "I thought perhaps Ryou had dropped it, but oddly enough it when Slifer attacked I felt my puzzle pulse. Like it was trying to tell me something, Then when I picked this up, it pulsed again, only this time it showed me something. A vision if you will…of my past."

Another deliberate pause. Bakura said nothing.

When it became clear he wasn't going to get an answer the former Pharaoh continued. "I saw myself as pharaoh and beneath that I saw two men dueling over me, though I could not recognize their faces, though for some reason they, well one, in particular seemed familiar. Then I saw another vision after Mariku's duel against Mai, then another one when Kaiba dueled Ishizu's duel. Then they started becoming more and more frequent usually as dreams or nightmares. Always with the same person though I could never see his face. Then Zorc made us play that bastardization of our past and the pieces started to fall in to place. I recognized one of the men fighting over me as Kaiba or rather my cousin Priest Seth, I recognized a third one as Mariku, but still I could never make out that third person's face, though he seemed to be closest to me…"

And here that neutral line of his mouth twitched: his lips twisted into a sneer then it untwisted and unwound and unfolded into its own secret sort of smile and a very visible, very angry twitch of his brow. The spark in his eye was a smoldering flicker—the kind that promised to burst and explode into an unstoppable conflagration that took everyone and everything down with it.

Bakura blanched. His heart didn't just stop, it nose-dived straight down into his gut.

He knew _that _look…

He suddenly regretted choosing to stand in a spot that offered little to no escape routes when the Pharaoh took a sleek step towards him, cutting off said only possible escape route, that smile twisting and curling all over again.

Oh Set and Heru, he was in trouble now.

"And then," his voice took on a sickeningly sweet edge, dripping with sarcasm and barely controlled rage as he sing-songed "it all came together…when I stepped through that door and for the briefest moment==before Set told us that _was_ that final test and brought us back, I saw that face. Aibou found it after our duel and, of course, he gave it back to me. Then I remembered. I remembered _everything_."

Bakura had never been so terrified in all three thousand plus years of his entire _life_.

Not that he was _disappointed _when the gods decreed too many of his actions had been compromised by an outside source, aka Zorc, the very soul of the devil no less, and thus couldn't properly weight his heart because of it and the Guardian of Chaos and the Red Desert dragged him out of the Hall of Scales and literally threw him back into his body—thankfully this time—separate from Ryou's with a quick explanation to "live out the remainder of his life" so they could properly decide if his heart was worthy of eternity or Ammut's bowls, essentially having been reincarnated like the Pharaoh—though Atem's according to the very same god had been a reward while his was to avoid an inconvenience, but he sure as hell wasn't going to complain. He'd been more annoyed than anything else when said new body was unceremoniously dumped onto the sand outside the pharaoh's tomb minus his millenniums ring with said pharaoh siting just as unceremoniously on his back (which he wasn't really _that_ upset about) in front of a very shocked Ryou, pharaoh's brat, the Tomb keeper and his whole clan, and the rest of what he, taking a page from Kaiba-priest, called the geek squad.

But, of course, after _everything _that happened _that_ was the moment when the former Pharaoh remembered _everything_. He could've pulled out his hair.

Whether it was from grief, relief or pure and utter terror, a laugh bubbled in his throat: it started as a chuckle, then as a harsh bark of sound. Then it morphed and grew in volume and boisterousness until he completely and utterly launched into it. He laughed uproariously until his sides hurt and his whole body shook with it and the Pharaoh, still clenching the pendant in his hand, looked like he wanted nothing more than to tear him to pieces and it took every ounce of restraint to keep him from doing just that.

"So…" the word was a harsh bark of laugher. "You _finally_ remember!" he laughed again, so hard he had to steady himself against the windowsill to keep from doubling over from it. "You certainly took your sweet time."

Atem exploded.

"You miserable, fucking bastard! You knew! Didn't you!" It wasn't a question and gone was all attempts at control.

"There's that temper!" the words were a high-pitched squeak of laugher. "You really haven't changed one little bit."

Atem screamed: a rising furious wail of sound. "You knew who _he_ was! You knew who _I_ was!" he paused in his fury to tear at his hair and threw back his flaming crown of red, black and gold spikes in absolute rage! "Sekhmet and all her devils, I should've known! You all but said as much after our duel! You knew this entire fucking time and you _never_ told _me_!"

"Of course, I didn't" Bakura sang, his voice high and mockingly sweet. He paused to collect himself, his smirk curled like a serpent's. He was dead anyway, he might as well have some fun. "Even if I _had_ told you then would you have believed me?" The humor in the tone did nothing to mask the gravity of the accusation.

Atem wanted to scream, to protest, to tear that argument apart before pouncing on the thief like a starving lioness all teeth and claws and hunger. His lips twitched ready to counter but no words came. His fingers writhed and spread in frustration. Oh course, he wouldn't have believed him, but he'd be damned if he'd admit to that. He squeezed his fist tighter, the crystal digging into his palms.

"It doesn't matter! You should've told me!" He held up the pendant, the crystal glowing an angry red.

"That that's your _shabka_ gift?" Another serpentine smirk. "And what fun would that have been?"

With a cry of fury, Atem curled his fingers into a fist and sent it flying toward Bakura's face. He caught it easily with his opposite hand, quick as a snake. His fingers slid to Atem's wrist, taking advantage of the shock and with a sharp tug, he pulled the boy two him, spun them around and pinned him hard against the glass. The breath knocked from the former king more from surprise than pain. Taking advantage of his temporary stunnedness, Bakura moved both slim wrists above his head, held them tight, then tugged at the silver chain around his neck—the one thing he kept hidden even from Ryou whilst they shared a body and he almost slain Malik on the spot for when he found that brat had nicked the other half from his pocket, the only thing in this world still important to him with the loss of the ring—until his fingers wound around the base and pulled it out. It dangled on a silver chain glittering before the Pharaoh's own cerise eyes—a reverse identical twin to the one Atem now held clutched in his hand.

"Of course I knew, who do you think _gave_ that thing to you."

Those blazing eyes returned all fire and fury and Atem's mouth twisted into a snarl. "I should smack you."

"Oh come now, darling," Bakura teasingly dragged out the last word so it sounded like a song. He dropped the pendant allowing the half-heart crystal to rest peacefully outside his shirt. "You wouldn't _really _hit your _husband _now, would you?"

He leaned in close, drawn to those fiery eyes, those lotus soft lips eager to taste their fiery sprit once again until his words were a whisper against the others skins.

"No," Atem flashed a smirk of his own. "I wouldn't."

He should've taken the warning, instead it was a full minute before Bakura registered Atem's knee colliding with his gut and a woosh of pain that had him doubling over and crashing against the couch in a cursing, heaving fit.

Muttering a string of colorful curses in both his native tongue and Ryou's, he crawled onto his knees glaring up at Atem, furious and spitting like an asp.

Said pharaoh was still sitting on the windowsill, arms braced defiantly behind him, one leg crossed elegantly over his opposite knee and looking down at the writhing creature on the floor with rolled eyes and nothing akin to sympathy. "How many times are you going to fall for that?"

Bakura cursed again, and struggled to pull himself up. His gut throbbing. "You missed the first time and got my thigh. The second time you nailed my stomach and sent be backward. I can't tell if your aim is getting better or worse,"

"Better," Atem corrected with a smirk. "I wasn't aiming for the part of you I like best." Oh that stubborn, Ra-damned shitting eating smirk the thief both loved and despised.

Snorting he barked a laugh. "I don't know if I should be flattered or offended."

Atem rolled his eyes again, his gaze flickering to the necklace still in his hand, and slowly he unclasped the chain and placed it round his own neck, a familiar weight settling where his father's puzzle once rested. "I'm still furious with you," he said though the childish way he crossed his arms and the puffy pout to his cheeks made it perfectly clear he was trying very hard to_ stay_ furious.

"I'd be disappointed if you weren't." Bakura grinned, leaning against the back of the couch, a relatively safe distance from said King's rage. "Good to know you haven't lost that fighting spirit of yours. I always did love how stubborn you are."

Despite himself, Atem couldn't stop a smile. "Is that the only thing you love about me?" A coquettish purr that masked a spark.

Bakura's lavender eyes flickered like tiny stars, recognizing the challenge. "Now you're just fishing for compliments."

"Or you're too worried to give them," Atem countered smoothly, his anger subsiding though he remained stubbornly firm. It wouldn't do well for the thief's ego after all to know he could be forgiven so easily, especially knowing well how difficult, borderline impossible, it was for him to admit to anything akin to affection. Atem suspected it had taken everything in him for the thief to confess he loved him.

Emboldened by that fact, Atem stood, savored the perplexed look on the thief's face before he grabbed the front of his shit pulled him forward and pressed his mouth to Bakura's. His lips were coarse and hard but his mouth was just as warm as Atem remembered. Like red sands baked beneath the sun. He took advantage of the thief's shock to deepen the kiss, enjoying a rare moment to dominate him. He tasted like the desert: something wild and ancient, beautiful and savage: warm sands, scorching sands and finely aged wine.

He pulled away before Bakura could recover himself and returned the kiss and threw him backwards with a hard shove. With a raspy unmasculine squeal of surprise the thief fell backwards, sprawled across the couch with a loud 'omf' and came up glaring "What the fuck, Pharaoh?"

Atem met his defiance with sultry eyes, flashing with fire and dark energy. "But don't worry," He slid onto the couch and climbed over the thief, his eyes dark and intense, bright with a hungry fire. So close, his taking on deeper hues of purple and scarlet. "I know how you can start making it up to me."

Bakura took in the allure of those eyes and shuddered. Then he grinned "Hmmm," he purred, fingers slithering up the former king's bare arms. "I think I like the sound of that."

With a serpentine smirk, he ceased the boy by the shoulders and rolled them over with such force Atem gasped as air was forced from his lungs. Before the brat could protest, Bakura pinned down his wrists and swallowed his complaints with another soul-staling kiss, not even bothing to ask permission as Atem gasped.

He tasted just as sweet as Bakura remembered: like water from a cool spring on a hot day, like spice and pomegranate wine and liquid fire and as soft as lotus petals. He felt Atem's body shift beneath him: his legs curving against his hips, his fingers curling in with his, his lips molding against his own: soft, lean muscles pressed against hard, strong flesh like two intertwined serpents.

He chose that moment to pull away, gazing down at the Pharaoh's flushed, furious face, more irritated than angry. "After all," he teased and kissed him again. "We have over three thousand years of celibacy to make up for."

HE released Atem's wrists, allowing him to sit up. Atem smirked. "Indeed, we do." He grabbed the thief by the silver chain of his _shabka_ pendant and yanked him down for another kiss.

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shabka-betrothal gift or wedding gift in ancient egyptian culture that signifyies one is wedded to another, usually a bracelet or necklace or in some cases a ring, usually something circular to symbolize the never ending bonds of love: in this case Atem and Bakura's pendants.

Hello Everyone!Hope you enoyed this one-shot, This was completely inspired by the illustration age (which is one of my all time favorite darkshipping pictures and was a huge inspiration for the Intertwined Series.

I had SO much fun writing this! Bakura's personality just comes so easily to me when i write him and i absolutely love just hoe easy he gets under Yami's skin. seriously He's always so calm and collected, only Bakura can bring out that temper in him.

So before anyone is more confused than I know they will be, this story (and the others in its series (which I may post as oneshots or as part of this story I haven't decided yet) So this is a sort of sequel/spin-off to my Intertwined series which includes the Captive and the Cobra and the Lion and the Serpent...so because I'm insane and this pairing and librashipping will NOT leave me alone I decided to surrender, so Intertwined will be a series of THREE MAIN ARCS: the Ancient Egyptian arc which includes the Captive and the Cobra and The Lion and the Serpent and its sequels will be Intertwined: Two Kings, the post-cannon series, which includes THIS story will be called Intertwines: Two Hearts, One Legacy, and a "middle"/third installment which will be a loose addition/rewrite of Battle city will be called Intertwined: Persistence of Memory and will include both librashiping and darkshipping.

On that note, this series will also be an alternate universe, cannon divergent as it was based on a headcannon I had when I saw/read the final chapter of Yugioh (god i still cry when i read that chapter in the managa) that DSOD TOTALLY KILLED! But i decided to play around with it.

That said...I am COMPLETELY PANSING THIS STORY, so I am LITERALLY Making this p as I go, that said this series will have completely random updates and posts will e completely out of order, though i will do my best to try and keep them organized to avoid confusion but i make no promises ^^'

This is basically my excuse to bring all my headcannon ideas to life. I also wont lie a lot of inspiration came from Goddess9Rouge's Malik in Love series (which also has darkshipping) which I STRONGLY recommend-I'm absolutely HEARTBROKEN she probably wont finish it but its totally worth a read!

as always read review, reply comment, critique, ask questions and go nuts!


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